Monday, June 23

No Bayless?

Hope you haven't already ordered a Jerryd Bayless Sonics' jersey. According to draftexpress.com:

Is Jerryd Bayless as much of a lock at 4 as everyone thinks? A number of NBA teams we’ve spoken with don’t think that’s the case. Almost everyone at this point in fact has Brook Lopez slated be picked by Seattle, with Bayless dropping slightly to the Knicks at #6. If Lopez doesn’t go 3rd, 4th of 5th, he will be taken by a team that did not work him out, as he only agreed to be seen by those three teams. Link here.

Just throwing this out there, but I'm guessing that the sound at the draft party (is there a draft party this year?) will sound awful familiar to people attending Mariner games at Safeco Field this season.

Does that mean you'd rather have Beasley than Lopez; after all, Lopez' team was more successful than Beasley's in college. I'm kidding, of course, but you can't put all your eggs in the W/L basket when judging prospects. Considering the turmoil at UA this past season, I wouldn't give Bayless too much crap for what happened there. As for Lopez, you're right, his style of man to man defense could work well in the NBA, and he seems to have enough quickness to be able to stray away from the basket and help out, unlike someone like Roy Hibbert, for example.

On the other hand, I don't like the way he seems to favor outside shots over post play. If I'm the Sonics, I don't need any more guys who want to take 15 footers - I want a big man who prefers to play down low. Lopez may turn out to be that guy, but the fact remains that even in college, facing smaller opposition, he favored going outside rather than inside.

are you guys serious? so you want a shoot-first point guard who scores inefficiently, doesn't play defense, and does more harm than good over a 7-footer who can score, defend, and has endless potential? you gotta be kidding me.

I've been kind of hoping we take Love, and then Mario Chalmers with the 24th. Love might be Collison redux, but we could really use a low post, back to the basket scorer. And I'm not sure how Mario isn't mentioned with the elite point guards, he can defend, passes pretty well, and can hit open looks. Even if he's not a franchise point, he's probably more dependable than Westbrook, who seems pretty raw. Oh, and I'd like to throw in my vote for Richard Hendrix in the second round. I'll bet he turns out to be a solid 4.

According to John Hollinger, the blockbuster trade involving the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors that's centered around Jermaine O'Neal won’t be official ‘til 7/9/2008 -- which is ‘cause T.J. Ford is a base-year compensation player through 7/1/2008 and, moreover, there’s a moratorium on trades between then and the technical beginning of the off-season -- additionally, the filler will be either one or both of the Raptors’ third-string forwards, Maceo Baston and Joey Graham, who both have expiring contracts.

For the Raptors, O’Neal is unlikely to fill its most pressing needs in the interior -- and that’s notwithstanding his history of injuries, too -- since he’s more of a power forwards who floats around the high-post with his face to the basket shooting mid-range jumpers, á la Chris Bosh, which makes him superfluous there. Yet, despite his health concerns, O’Neal is still a top-notch weakside help defender; thus, he’s an asset in at least one major way.

Regarding the Indiana Pacers, this transitional move signals a start to the organization's retooling process. The acquisition of T.J. Ford is the dawning of a new era at point guard, with Jamaal Tinsley being rightfully regulated to reserve duties -- no matter his bloated contract, which is an undeniable anchor -- unless Larry Bird can somehow manage to miraculously pawn him off on another team. As long as Ford doesn’t have any lingering issues with his back, this should work out well for Jim O’Brien and his guys.

Furthermore, Radoslav Nesterovic will form a solid platoon at center with Jeff Foster -- for they’re both outstanding man-to-man low-post defenders, as well as competent on offense -- come next season. Also, with the 17th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Pacers should look to add frontcourt depth at center -- especially considering that David Harrison is an out-‘n’-out bust -- therefore, a pivotman who’s got a ton of potential (e.g., DeAndre Jordan, JaVale McGee, et al.) would be a high-risk/high-reward selection.

Financially, the trade is a wash for both teams. In the short-term here, the Raptors will have a lot of money invested for the 2009-2010 season. The Pacers, however, will absorb Ford’s sizeable contract throughout the long haul. All in all, it’s a fair and balanced deal.

2. Trade Chris Wilcox, Johan Petro, and a 2010 first-round draft pick (via the Phoenix Suns) to the Memphis Grizzlies for Brian Cardinal and the draft rights of Kevin Love -- who'll've been selected with the 5th pick -- as he combines the tenacity of Dave Cowens, the footwork of Kevin McHale, the rebouding prowess of Wes Unseld, and the beautiful outlet pass of Bill Walton.

The closest contemporary comparison to Love isn't Nick Collison -- who's more similar to Tyler Hansborough regarding skill set and career arch -- but rather Carlos Boozer.

On a side note, the reportedly cheap, stingy nature of owner Michael Heisley is the only reason that there'd ever be such a transaction.

3. Trade Bayless' draft rights to the Los Angeles Clippers for the draft rights of Brook Lopez -- who'll've been selected with the 7th pick -- and a 2009 first-round draft pick (via the Minnesota Timberwolves {top-ten protected through 2011 and unprotected in 2012}).

Despite the negative projections by several haters, a frontline of Lopez and Love is young, talented, and versatile enough to compete from the get-go. With Kevin Durant at small forward, too, they'd form a dangerous frontcourt for the next decade.

That, by the way, would send Jeff Green to the bench -- who's a carbon copy of Boris Diaw -- as a seventh/eighth man; his peak will most likely be that of a reserve combo forward.

4. Select Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 24th pick.

While Douglas-Roberts has received comparisons to Julius Hodge and recently dropped in most mock drafts, he's nonetheless an athletic swingman with many good qualities who'd adequately replace Mickael Gelabale in the rotation and add some much needed depth.

5. The second-round is almost always a crapshoot, so it's hard to judge those of whom who'll be available there. Hell, I plugged Josh McRoberts heavily last year; that turned out to be an incorrect call.

This year, however, I'll throw my support toward Darnell Jackson of Kansas with the 56th pick. Jackson is an undersized, yet hard-nosed power forward who performed well under Hollinger's statistical analysis -- plus, at least one scout compared him favorably to one-time undrafted free-agent Udonis Haslem -- thus, he's worthy of a shot.